Anyone else working full time, more than 5 days and get little to no overtime?

Jul 21, 2012 6:59 PM

I love my job, most of the time. My problem is that when I work 6 days, it only gives me 41 hours, so I only get an hour of overtime. I'm beginning to wonder if it's even worth it half the time! It's supposed to only be 2 weeks a month, but sometimes if someone is sick or takes vacation, it can be more. In fact, the next three weeks, I'm working 6 days. My normal work week is 35 hours (the store I work at is only open 7 hours during the week, 6 on Saturday). I am then only one in the company that has this happen, as the other person that works 6 days the two weeks I don't works two days a week at a store that is open 8 hours, so she gets 3 hours of overtime. It seems to be a little better, because you lose most of the day stuck at work. I was wondering who else was crazy enough to do this, or if I'm the only one?

Top Answers

It isn't necessarily fair, but then, nothing in life is. @baybei, you should look at this differently.

When you work six days a week, you finally get that 40 hour work week, and a better paycheck. In addition, you get overtime for one of those hours, so it's a bonus. You will be much happier in life if you don't spend too much time comparing your lot to the next fellow (so to speak).

I worked many 80 and 90 hour weeks, and I always got paid for 40 of them. I knew plenty of people in other areas of the company that worked less than 40 hours, and still got paid for 40...until times got hard, and then they got a permanent vacation. I had a great job, and I miss it, now and then, but that's the way it goes.

If you love your job, count yourself fortunate. There are plenty of people working that don't, and there are plenty more people not working that would like to be.

Nope, no overtime here. But, as others have said, I like my job (and the people I work with most days) so it's all good. If I occasionally put in some unpaid extra hours, it balances the days when there is a woot-off. :)

I have to agree with @moosezilla. I'm stuck working part time and I'd probably die happy if I was in the position where overtime was even a possibility. In my area even the crappy fast food jobs are coveted.

It isn't necessarily fair, but then, nothing in life is. @baybei, you should look at this differently.

When you work six days a week, you finally get that 40 hour work week, and a better paycheck. In addition, you get overtime for one of those hours, so it's a bonus. You will be much happier in life if you don't spend too much time comparing your lot to the next fellow (so to speak).

I worked many 80 and 90 hour weeks, and I always got paid for 40 of them. I knew plenty of people in other areas of the company that worked less than 40 hours, and still got paid for 40...until times got hard, and then they got a permanent vacation. I had a great job, and I miss it, now and then, but that's the way it goes.

If you love your job, count yourself fortunate. There are plenty of people working that don't, and there are plenty more people not working that would like to be.

Nope, no overtime here. But, as others have said, I like my job (and the people I work with most days) so it's all good. If I occasionally put in some unpaid extra hours, it balances the days when there is a woot-off. :)

@shrdlu: Valid point. I guess it just frustrates me sitting there on a beautiful Saturday, not getting much OT. Then to have my boss say, "Think of the overtime you'll get". And I think, it's only 1 hour of OT. I guess I should just look at it more positively, as in 40 hours instead of 35, maybe that will make it less annoying.

The plus side is, I work a store at least twice a week that's pretty slow, and I can spend my free time (after the work is done) crafting or reading. The owners are generous (A gift card for $25 on Thanksgiving, and a Christmas bonus), even if they refuse to give raises, getting a Christmas bonus from such a small company is a plus. My boss has been my friend since grade school, and I have job security as long as I don't do something stupid like steal, or get drunk on the job. I mean, I seriously love my job, I think it's just gorgeous Saturdays, and stuck at work with little OT that gets me. I'll try your suggestion though, it will probably help.

I work 6 days a week every week unless I take vacation. Recently my hours were cut so I am scheduled one 8 hour day, one 3 hour day and four 2 hour days for 19 hours.

Before that I worked those hours plus on the 5 short days I would have a 3 or 4 hour unpaid break and then work 2 more hours. I live about 20 to 30 minutes from work depending on the time of day so it was tough to justify the time and gas money to drive home. Either way if shoots the whole day.

I do get a few extra hours with summer vacations. Monday I get to drive an extra 45 miles to pick up 3 hours of work.

I work a two week shift of 42-1/2 hours one week and 50-1/2 the next in a pay period, all on salary. I put in a few extra hours "overtime" on weekends that I don't get compensated for, but I am glad I have work. I understand your frustration, but we all have to work on nice days as well as nasty ones. Just smile and keep depositing those paychecks. :)

As the owner of my business, I work 7 days a week. I have never had a vacation or a paid day off in my career. I never get sick days. I get paid last, which means sometimes I don't get paid, and there is no overtime. But of course, our president says I've had nothing to do with building my business because someone else did it. Consider yourself lucky, and quit yer bitchin.

I work 2 day shifts and 3 night shifts and I don't get 2 days off in a row...
Day shifts start at 8AM and finish up between 6 and 8PM, on very rare occasions I get out around 5... Night shifts start around 4 PM and finish between mid-night and 2AM and on rare occasions even later than that...
Last week I worked a 6 day week, 4 day shifts and & 2 night shifts, I was just under 60 hours excluding the commute which adds another 12 to 15 hours a week...
During renovations a few years back I worked 6 and 7 day weeks for about 4 months, Mondays thru' Fridays 7AM to 7PM and then Saturday nights and some Sundays... They couldn't just give me time off for all of the extra days so that was the only time I got a check for the extra effort.... It went into a savings account...
I work days, nights, weekends and holidays and have had this schedule or something similar for over 20 years... I have distant fond memories of 35 or 40 hour weeks with holidays off... Enjoy your time...

@nortonsark: You should listen to someone who hasn't run a business or built something with his own hands or created something out of his own efforts...
In the grand scheme of things they really don't know much and aren't worth listening to....

@nortonsark: If you own the business, why don't you set your own hours? Who "elected" the president? Are you "over: him/her? Sounds like you two might want to sit down and hammer our a more fair work schedule? If you own the business, something just doesn't sound right.

@okham: I hope those extra, unpaid hours come back to you in some form; whether it be time off, bonuses, perks, etc. It's ok to do that, once in a while, for a job you like, but someone is making money out of your efforts and it really needs to be a reciprocal situation.

@mtm2: Wow, never worked where they had overtime, that's pretty harsh. Every job I have had does pay OT over 40 hours. I wish you luck finding a job!

@pattiq: Ouch is all I can say to that! I don't think I would ever work with a schedule like that.

@jsimsace: Ah, salary, in my opinion the worst idea ever! And a 45 mile drive? The farthest I have to go for my one store is 25 miles (each way) 3 days a week.

@nortonstark: One of the many reasons I don't own my own business. Unless you count the fact that I am a flea market vendor at least once a month all summer. Also, I was not bitchin. I was simply frustrated, especially at my boss who is always telling me think of the OT. She would get 6 hours OT if she worked, and she's making me work because she doesn't want to one of the Saturdays.

I feel your pain, but you are in retail, right? No overtime is allowed at all where I work. Even getting one minute is grounds for corrective action. The average shift is only 4-6 hours, so for most employees they have to work 6 days to even hit close to 40. A few choose to work 7 days. I'm lucky to get 8 hour shifts, but currently, my "weekend" is Tuesday and Thursday. See, that occasional Saturday doesn't look so bad now, does it?

@baybei: Strictly speaking, if you are not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, your employer is required by law to pay you overtime for any hours you work in excess of 40/week. Of course, there are some quirks in the law regarding IT and police jobs, among others.

Having said that, just because something is required by law doesn't mean your employer will do it. And, of course, I can't tell from any of this whether your job is exempt or non-exempt, but it might be something you will want to investigate. Also, even if you ARE non-exempt you might not be in a position to challenge your employer at this time. However, I strongly urge you to document all of the OT you work and maintain a copy of that information at home.

@jsimsace: My bad! I tried to remember everyone separately in my response, and messed up somehow. I believe it was the person before you who said that.

@gwendyw: Not quite retail, thank heavens! I left that mess about 7 years ago now. Currently I'm working for a self-storage place. I think most stores are only open 7 hours, so they can prevent having to pay OT. They all used to be 8, but they cut back all but the one the manager works in (favoritism I think).

@belyndag: Please, if I get stuck 15 minutes late, they won't pay me! I have to stay for at least 20, then they will pay me 1/2 hour. Getting stuck 5-10 minutes late happens more than I'd like to admit though. They find their way around it, trust me. Being a small business, I gave up fighting almost everything. Thanks for the advice though, I'm going to maintain better records for myself just in case there is ever I time I can do something!

I have been accused of bringing politics into this discussion. What I am trying to do is bring some perspective. I am a veterinarian in my own business. I am available 24/7 for patient emergencies. I therefore cannot set my own hours, as my patients set them for me. I also treat patients when the owner does not have funds available and sometimes I get stiffed on the bill, but at least the animal was treated. This is my choice. No one makes me do it. The purpose of my comment was to point out that a business owner is not usually an SOB trying to rip-off anyone who does business or works with him/her. The business owner makes a lot of sacrifices to keep it running, especially in a poor economy. A lot of people (our president included) seem to not understand this basic fact of life. If that is bringing politics into the discussion, so be it. I consider it bringing some reality into it.

I get paid for 35 hours a week and am not eligible for overtime. Unless I am on vacation (as in away from home, not just taking a day or two off), It is rare that I don't work at least 40 to 45 hours and many weeks I work 50 or more.

I'd be very glad to get any money at all for the extra hours I have to work. Even at 1/4 my regular rate, it would be the equivalent of at least four weeks' extra pay or almost an 8% raise (and I'd probably be willing to do it).

After my younger daughter goes away to college (in ~14 months), I will probably look for a second job; at least it would help pay for their tuition.

We are all paid for 40 hours where I work though our schedule is based on a 37.5 hour work week. You are scheduled for 8.5 hours but get 1 hour for lunch, so you are only working 7.5 hours a day. Well, that's most people....I on the other hand spend no less than 45 hours a week there, and during the winter months that number climbs to somewhere in the 60's, but I am overtime exempt, so no matter what, I still only get paid for 40 hours. And there are no weeks where you work less than 40 hours and still get paid for the 40, there is just too much work for that to happen. With all that said, I am very fortunate to have my job, I've been there over 14 years and I like what I do (most of the time). You just have to weight the benefits vs the things that suck, and if there's enough things there that make you happy, then the things that suck don't matter as much.

@baybei: "my boss who is always telling me think of the OT. She would get 6 hours OT if she worked [ but I would only get one hour OT]"

Have you thought of pointing this out to her? Since she "always" brings it up as a supposed advantage of working that extra day, it's possible that she may somehow not be aware of how different your circumstances are.

I can sympathize with the "being stuck inside when you want to go out and play" mindset. I work on the 8th floor of a 40 year old building with windows that don't open, and when the weather is nice I just itch to get out of this place. But that doesn't mean I am not grateful to have a job that meets all my financial needs and allows me to do good in the world. And I have a huge office with a wall of windows, so I can enjoy the sunlight even if I can't get a breath of fresh air. I just make sure once I get home to open all the windows and doors and take my book or laptop out to the sofa swing under the big tree in my yard and enjoy the little slice of lovely weather I get to call my own.

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